disappointing to see Ubuntu not recommended cause of data leaks/sharing

[Benjamin Kerensa]

Hello Don,

I have been talking to the creators of PRISM Break for some time. They
feel that Ubuntu is operating system that does not respect the privacy
of its users as a result of the default nature of the Shopping Lens.

They will however be adding Xubuntu/Lubuntu/Kubuntu to their list of
suggested operating systems because those do not include any features
which infringe on user privacy which is of course choice and control
over data that is shared.

The EFF has been pretty clear that this is a privacy violation because
despite being able to toggle it off it is default and that from the
get go takes away user choice which is a component of privacy.

When you type in a url in a browser that action is you're choice as a
user... When you send a e-mail again it is you're choice but when you
search on you're desktop on Ubuntu it should not be expected that
Canonical will make the choice for you and defend that choice by
saying you can disabled the feature after the fact.

It is no surprise now that Canonical is proposing replacing Firefox
with Chromium which is also not considered a privacy focused browser
by PRISM Break while Firefox is.

Notably though Linux Mint is in a similar boat and should not be
listed on PRISM Break
since it too has added by default an add-on to Firefox that grabs
searches and sends them through
search.linuxmint.com (oddly a Ubuntu powered server)

On Fri, Jul 12, 2013 at 10:26 AM, Don Griffin <dgr8219 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Ive always recommended Ubuntu to others based on it being open-source and
> more privacy protective than Apple and Microsoft. It has been rather
> embarrassing for me that Ubuntu is becoming more and more like Apple and
> Microsoft with respect to privacy. Microsoft has now been revealed by
> Snowden-documents as allowing NSA access to Outlook emails and chat, Skype,
> and Skydrive.
>
> PRISM Break does not recommend Ubuntu because of that stupid Scopes Project
> sending data to Canonical. I just feel like that whole Scopes data leak
> issue was such a waste of Ubuntu's limited resources, especially since it
> hurts Ubuntu's image and turns away people looking for a company they can
> trust with their personal info in the face of mass surveillance :(
>
> More resources devoted to ubuntu convergence, MIR, etc, would have been
> better. And it wouldn't have alienated people looking for a privacy-friendly
> company to turn to in the face of mass surveillance.
>
> https://prism-break.org/
> http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/07/nsa-taps-skype-chats-newly-published-snowden-leaks-confirm/
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Ubuntu-devel-discuss mailing list
> Ubuntu-devel-discuss at lists.ubuntu.com
> Modify settings or unsubscribe at:
> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel-discuss
>



-- 
Benjamin Kerensa
http://benjaminkerensa.com
"I am what I am because of who we all are" - Ubuntu